The waves of Autism...

Autism is like a wave. At first it crashes through your life and washes away all that you knew.. But when the next wave comes you learn to just ride it in. Its a beautiful sometimes harsh ocean but this is now your life if you love someone with Autism..



I can't credit this to anyone because someone posted it on facebook and I just copied it. It encompasses how many parents feel when they receive and are dealing with a diagnosis for a child.
A good friend of mine and I have talked about this feeling several times. We both have special needs children and we both have taught children. We thought we understood how parents with special needs children feel but we were wrong - we didn't know and couldn't know what it felt like until it happened to us. I was empathetic, certainly, but I did not understand.
When other people tell me they "understand" what I'm going through, I know they don't. In some ways I appreciate that they are trying to relate to me and my situation but in other ways, I'm annoyed. I want to scream.. YOU DON'T GET IT!!! But what good will that do? Instead, I have learned to be quiet and smile.
This is my life and in many ways I'm grateful...I've learned to be less judgemental. I've learned to be grateful. I've learned that life can change in an instant. I've learned to take less for granted. Autism has taught me these things.
Another wave will hit, they always do. Some days these waves seem to pound the beach of my sanity several times in a day. I'll stand firm while another wave hits but sometimes I need someone to pull me back to shore when it pulls me out to sea.